DALLAS — Needing to bounce back from Thursday’s 109-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in order to keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race, the Dallas Mavericks took the court two nights later looking to continue their home-court dominance over the Sacramento Kings.

Mavs vs. Kings

Entering the night one-half game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final spot in the West playoff picture, the Mavericks looked to extend their 19-game home winning streak over the Kings. However, after falling to a 112-97 road defeat back on Dec. 9 in Sacramento before also having to rally from a 14-point deficit to claim a 107-103 home victory on Jan. 31, the Mavericks once again expected to find themselves in a dogfight.

The Mavericks (44-30) would then get exactly what they anticipated while securing their 20th straight home win over the Kings (25-48), rallying for a 103-100 victory after relinquishing a 17-point first-half lead.

“That’s not what you pictured or how you expected to handle them,” four-time All-Star Shawn Marion said of the win. “But, once we stopped doing things we were doing to get the lead, that’s when they got back in the game. They made a game of it, but we were able to pull it out this time and any win counts. You can’t think about the negatives of it. Any W going in that win column is big for us.”

After surrendering 35 points to Kings forward Rudy Gay the last time the two squads squared off, the Mavericks hoped to hold him in check with Marion leading the defensive charge. Meanwhile, the starting backcourt of point guard Jose Calderon and 2-guard Monta Ellis handled the offensive responsibilities in the opening quarter. And after building an 11-point lead, the Mavs slid into the second stanza with a 26-19 advantage.

With sixth man Vince Carter off to a slow start, the Mavs had to look elsewhere for instant offense. But the home team would get it from 12-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, who began to assert himself on the offensive end.

Backup big man Brandan Wright also stepped it up on the defensive side of the ball, becoming an enforcer in the middle of the paint while sending back shots with above-the-rim rejections. Carter then snapped out of his slow start, rocking the rim with a vintage two-handed slam. And with Marion lending some offensive assistance, the Mavericks pushed their lead to as many as 17 before taking a 54-42 edge into the halftime break following Kings rookie Ben McLemore’s score just before the buzzer.

“We wanted to finish the half strong and take a 16, 17-point lead into the half. But, next thing you know, we let them score right before the buzzer and it’s only a 12-point game. And they got some momentum going into the half,” Nowitzki foreshadowed.

Led by Ellis’ 11 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting to match Gay’s output at the other end, the Mavericks outshot the Kings through two quarters, 55.3 percent to 45 percent. The Mavs also scored 12 points off the Kings’ nine turnovers at the midway mark while Sacramento forced just five Dallas giveaways.

Beginning the second half with a three-point play by center DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings looked to stage a rally early in the third. A technical foul assessed to Kings coach Mike Malone for arguing with officials also seemed to spark the Sacramento squad as it inched closer in the period. And with Nowitzki forced to sit with four fouls at the 7:22 mark of the third, the Kings would climb to within one before Carter’s best efforts took the Mavs into the fourth up 72-70.

Despite the aerial theatrics of Wright, it wouldn’t take long before Kings point guard Ray McCallum tied the game at 77-all on a 3-pointer with 9:08 left to play. The Kings then grabbed their first lead at 81-80 on Gay’s tip-in before he also scored on the following possession, leading to Mavs coach Rick Carlisle’s timeout to settle his team down with 6:58 remaining.

The Mavericks would then fall into a five-point hole before getting into the bonus with 6:04 left to play. But, after a corner 3-pointer from Calderon with 3:46 on the game clock forced a timeout by Sacramento, the Mavs found themselves down just two in front of their hometown crowd.

Nowitzki then jumped back into the scoring, connecting on two free throws to tie the game at 89-all before Marion’s 2-for-2 trip to the charity stripe put the Mavs up two with 2:38 remaining. Marion put the cap on a 10-0 Mavs run from there with a corner 3-pointer to put his team up five.

“That wasn’t pretty there for a second, but I thought the shot of the game was actually Jose’s three in the corner,” Nowitzki explained. “They had just made a run and they went up five with a couple of minutes to go. If he doesn’t make that three, they go down and score again, then it’s really ugly. That was a big shot for us. It kind of woke us up and got it back to a two-point game. The good thing is we were in the bonus early, so every little foul we went to foul line and that was big. And we strung together some stops, which all night we really didn’t. But there we got like three or four in a row, and that gave us a little lead. That little stretch right there is what we needed to win the game.”

But the Mavs weren’t out of the woods safely after a 3-pointer by McLemore brought the Kings within three with 9.6 seconds left. And despite a 0-for-2 trip the foul line by Ellis with 6.8 ticks remaining, the Mavs held on following Travis Outlaw’s misfire from 3-point range as time expired.

“Getting our backs up against the wall again, we responded,” Carlisle said after the win. “It was good. It was a good finish. We got a bunch of stops in a row and scored. Getting to the bonus helped us, but it’s not a good way of doing business. It’s tough trying to win that way. We’ve just got to keep working and getting better.”

Scoring 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting and hitting nine of 10 at the foul line, Nowitzki led six Mavericks in double figures. Ellis recorded 17 points and six assists in the first unit and center Samuel Dalembert added 15 points inside. Meanwhile, Marion scored 14 points and Calderon pitched in 11 points to go along with seven assists, while Carter finished with 10 points off the bench.

Gay led five Kings in double figures with 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting as the Kings’ 51.9 percent from the field bettered the Mavs’ 48.6 percent. Sacramento also collected a 47-35 rebounding advantage and 60-38 scoring margin in the paint, but couldn’t overcome the 25 Dallas points they allowed off 20 turnovers.

“I mean, we lose leads. That’s what we do. … We had to grind it out,” a candid Nowitzki concluded. “They’ve got some talented guys. I thought Gay made some shots all night long, so we had to grind this one out and that’s what we did.”

Note: The Mavericks return to action at American Airlines Center on Tuesday, concluding their eight-game homestand against the Golden State Warriors. Golden State leads the season series 2-1. The game will air locally on TXA 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS (6287) or by visiting Mavs.com.

Sacramento Kings

PLAYER

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

Rudy Gay, F

42

11-19

0-1

8-10

3

4

7

0

0

0

7

2

-1

30

Reggie Evans, F

29

3-5

0-0

0-1

4

14

18

1

2

0

2

5

-1

6

DeMarcus Cousins, C

27

8-15

0-0

1-3

2

5

7

5

2

0

3

5

-14

17

Ben McLemore, G

33

4-9

1-2

1-1

1

1

2

2

0

0

2

5

-2

10

Ray McCallum, G

48

7-17

2-4

0-0

1

3

4

8

2

1

2

2

-3

16

Derrick Williams

10

1-2

0-1

2-2

0

2

2

0

0

0

0

1

1

4

Travis Outlaw

20

3-7

0-2

0-0

1

0

1

1

1

0

1

4

-1

6

Jason Thompson

28

5-7

0-0

1-2

2

3

5

0

3

1

1

4

6

11

Quincy Acy

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

Aaron Gray

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Carl Landry

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Willie Reed

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Jason Terry

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Isaiah Thomas

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

TOTALS

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

42-81

3-10

13-19

14

33

47

17

10

2

18

29

100

51.9%

30.0%

68.4%

Dallas Mavericks

PLAYER

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

Shawn Marion, F

32

5-7

1-1

3-3

1

4

5

2

1

0

0

3

3

14

Dirk Nowitzki, F

30

5-10

0-2

9-10

0

7

7

7

0

1

2

4

12

19

Samuel Dalembert, C

23

7-8

0-0

1-2

2

4

6

0

2

3

3

3

11

15

Monta Ellis, G

37

5-12

1-3

6-8

0

3

3

6

2

0

3

2

2

17

Jose Calderon, G

37

4-11

3-8

0-0

0

0

0

7

0

0

1

1

10

11

Vince Carter

25

4-10

2-6

0-0

0

2

2

3

1

0

0

3

-5

10

DeJuan Blair

4

0-2

0-0

2-2

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

1

-5

2

Devin Harris

16

0-4

0-1

3-6

0

1

1

2

0

0

1

1

-6

3

Jae Crowder

12

2-4

0-2

2-2

1

3

4

0

0

0

2

0

-2

6

Brandan Wright

19

2-2

0-0

2-2

2

4

6

1

0

3

0

0

-5

6

Wayne Ellington

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Bernard James

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Shane Larkin

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Ricky Ledo

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Gal Mekel

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

TOTALS

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

34-70

7-23

28-35

6

29

35

28

6

7

12

18

103

48.6%

30.4%

80.0%

One-on-One with Samuel Dalembert

Mavs C Samuel Dalembert talks to Lonnie Franklin III about the confidence his teammates and coaches have in him, the monster dunk he threw down against the Kings Saturday night and more.

Postgame: Dirk Nowitzki

Mavs F Dirk Nowitzki weighs in on the win over the Kings Saturday night, how vital the next few games are and more.

Carter’s Two-hand Slam

Vince Carter gets to the rim and throws down a two-handed flush.

Harris to Wright

Devin Harris hits Brandan Wright with the lob for the alley-oop jam.

Practice Report: Jae Crowder

Mavs F Jae Crowder weighs in on how well the bench has been playing recently, the rest they are able to provide Dirk and the starters, the importance of every game down the stretch and more.

Practice Report: Rick Carlisle

Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle looks ahead to the challenges the Kings present Saturday night, the improved play of Samuel Dalembert and more.

DALLAS — Despite facing a Sacramento Kings squad that’s well out of playoff contention Saturday night, the Dallas Mavericks know they still will have to play at a high level to keep their own postseason aspirations alive.

Looking to move to 2-1 in the season series against the Kings (25-47) and 4-3 on their current eight-game homestand, the Mavericks (43-30) will also attempt to pull even with Memphis for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. Meanwhile, the Mavs will try to keep from overlooking the Kings while trying to extend a 19-game home winning streak in the series.

“They’ve got a talented team. You know, you just can’t overlook look them at all,” forward Shawn Marion said of the upstart Sacramento squad. “They’re always going to give themselves a chance to a certain degree, so we know you have to put pressure on them early and take them out of the game early. You don’t need to be playing a close game with them.”

Without Marion in the lineup due to soreness in his right shoulder and ribs, the Mavericks would fall behind by 14 in the third quarter the last time they saw the Kings before rallying for a 107-103 home win back on Jan. 31. However, after Kings forward Rudy Gay took advantage of Marion’s absence and scored a game-high 35 points on 10-of-16 shooting while adding 12 rebounds, the Mavs hope the presence of their top perimeter defender leads to yet another win.

“You know, you’ve got guys like [Kevin] Durant coming in here, and he guarded Durant, he guarded [Blake] Griffin and he guarded [Chris] Paul,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of Marion’s workload during the team’s homestand. “When you’ve got a guy who can do all those different things, it’s an important tool to have in the toolbox. … We didn’t have him the last time we played these guys, and I think that’s one of the reasons that Gay got going the way that he did. With Shawn guarding him tonight, hopefully we can prevent that.”

Note: The Mavericks return to action at American Airlines Center on Saturday, hosting the Sacramento Kings. The season series is tied at 1-1. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS (6287) or by visiting Mavs.com.

Practice Report: Jae Crowder

Mavs F Jae Crowder weighs in on how well the bench has been playing recently, the rest they are able to provide Dirk and the starters, the importance of every game down the stretch and more.

DALLAS — After splitting the first two outings against the Sacramento Kings this season, the Dallas Mavericks know they can’t afford to overlook Saturday night’s third showdown between the two squads.

Alternating wins and losses over their last five games, the Mavericks (43-30) will now try to avoid getting caught looking past the Kings (25-47) and ahead to Tuesday’s pivotal matchup against the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile, the Mavs will look to remain in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, entering the night one-half game behind Memphis for the eighth and final seed in the postseason picture.

The Mavericks will also try to bounce back from Thursday’s 109-103 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers, squandering an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter to slip to 3-3 in the midst of their current eight-game homestand. And while needing to keep pace, the Mavs will try to assert their will against a rugged Sacramento team.

“All these three losses in this homestand have been heartbreakers, so it’s tough. But we’ve got to swallow it and try to be better,” 12-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki matter-of-factly said following Thursday’s loss.

Falling to a 112-97 road defeat back on Dec. 9 in Sacramento, the Mavericks would then have to scratch and claw their way to a 107-103 home victory on Jan. 31 while rallying from 14 down in the third quarter. Saturday, the Mavs will again try to take advantage of their home crowd in order to claim the third matchup against the Kings before the season series concludes in Sacramento on April 6.

Practice Report: Rick Carlisle

Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle looks ahead to the challenges the Kings present Saturday night, the improved play of Samuel Dalembert and more.

The Mavs have won 19 straight at home over the Kings and 16 of 18 overall in the series. Dallas will now try to continue Sacramento’s slide, as the Kings come to town losers of eight of 11 and six of seven on the road. And with the visitors also on the second night of a back-to-back following a 94-81 loss at Oklahoma City on Friday, the Mavericks hope to once again dethrone the Kings on the American Airlines Center hardwood.

“We are not in a position to take anybody lightly,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle confessed. “And on paper and on the court, this is a very difficult team for us. I mean, with a couple of minutes to go in the third quarter last game at our place we were down 14 points in our own building, and we had to scramble our (tails) off to win that game. And it was a hard game. I can’t remember the last time we had an easy game. They’re just not going to be easy, especially with the schedule that we have. So, we’ve got to circle the wagons and hunker down and get ready, and everybody’s got to jump up and do their job and more.”

Note: The Mavericks return to action at American Airlines Center on Saturday, hosting the Sacramento Kings. The season series is tied at 1-1. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS (6287) or by visiting Mavs.com.